An open Fathers Day letter to my son Jaimeo
Mayo, my son, a Happy Father’s Day to you. Indeed it is a very Happy Father’s day because we are both here..on planet Earth…in 2024. A relationship now going on 46.4 years.
We know each other pretty well, having traveled so many miles and experiences since that day January 24, 1979 when you came into the world as God’s divine gift and teacher to your mother and I.
Father’s day. A day to savor the memories we’ve created as father and son leavened with the memories we now build as fathers plural. I couldn’t anticipate the deep resonance and satisfaction I’ve experienced sharing our now deeper mutual understanding of what this ‘dad thing’ is all about.
It’s quite a feeling when you can look at each other through the lens of experience and perspective when it becomes clear that you both acknowledge that “oh I get it now” moment!
Remembering our times on mountains in Montana, or winning your division in the Marin County Science Fair while you were in middle school, or finding your drum teacher, Sly Randolph at age 16, or collaborating with you on your first album as a leader.
Through the up times and the down times and the downright crappy times, you’ve been an inspiration to me. Now YOU are the father of two daughters, one of which is a rising sophomore at the school you at which you teach.
(I remember you and your sister were aghast at the thought of your dad being a teacher at your respective schools.)
You have proven yourself to be a truth teller, one who instills dedication and a commitment to excellence in your students. You are a father who employs body, mind and spirit in the pursuit of bringing light into the world.
You and I have brought each other to a deeper understanding of the true nature of fatherhood. We understand that our prayers for guidance sustain our presence with wisdom and perspective borne of joy and trial.
I don’t need a shaving mug, or a new iDevice. YOU, Jaimeo and your sister Marisha are all the Father’s Day present I could ask for. After that, all I can do is to express all the gratitude I can muster. Amen? Amen!
Strength and Love written by the author. Arranged by Jaimeo’s mother Marcia Miget and her sisters Susie and Mimi creating lovely harmonies. All about the time Jaimeo here was born.
Beautiful, Dartanyan. You’re right. We don’t need “no stinking presents”. We already have the most wonderful things in the world: our children. One who calls me pop, two who call me dad, and the forth who sometimes talks like Sylvester the Cat’s son and calls me “ffathher”. So Happy Father’s Day, Pops!
Lovely.